Wilderness expansion a done deal

Sierra Club notified me with the message pasted below. Some of you will want to call in with expletives rather than thanks, but I think that on the whole this is a win for the CV/Davis/Thomas community. Seems there is often a lot of belly aching about federal designations as they are passed, but quite often the belly achers themselves are the long term beneficiaries. More tourism, more people deciding this is the area to live, more revenues to businesses, more ways to make a living in the mountains, higher land values since all can be assured that the shared lands will be protected, and so the cycle goes....There is always some way to bitch about things not decided locally. I definitely don't like being excluded from mountain biking the northern section of Dolly Sods and I don't understand the rigidity of not permitting bike trails at all. But nonetheless I wouldn't deny the designation.

What does this mean for Davis? Larger protected area means more visitors in the long term, displacement of several recreation categories to areas with lower protections, higher land values. Bottom line: Davis businesses and real estate will benefit.

Anyhow, here is the news flash:

Last week Congress passed a wonderful wilderness bill, expanding protected Wilderness in the Monongahela National Forest by 37,000 acres. All 5 of our folks in Congress were on board to make this Wilderness expansion possible.

Please take a moment to put in a quick call to your Representative and Senators, thanking them for their leadership and support for the Wild Monongahela Act. Tell them which places in Wild Mon you especially care about, and why Wilderness designation for these areas is important to you!


Rahall 3rd-Big Draft, Spice Run, Cranberry Expansion

Capito 2nd - Roaring Plains West

Mollohan 1st - Otter Creek Expansion, Dolly Sods Expansion

The Honorable Robert C. Byrd: (202)-224-3954 The Honorable John D. Rockefeller IV: (202) 224-6472 The Honorable Nick J. Rahall II: (202) 225-3452 The Honorable Alan Mollohan: (202) 225-4172 The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito: (202) 225-2711


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